


i wanted to be your first dance

by WattStalf



Series: Edeleth Week 2k19 [1]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Edeleth Week, Extended Scene, F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-29
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2020-11-01 12:26:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20815130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WattStalf/pseuds/WattStalf
Summary: Byleth meets her favorite student in the goddess tower.





	i wanted to be your first dance

**Author's Note:**

> For Edeleth week, and the prompt of "first dance." I've got five, maybe six things planned for this week, mostly drabbles.

Edelgard is ready to go back to the ball, but somehow, this doesn’t feel right. After their brief conversation, after hoping to find her up here, it can’t already be time for them to go back down. Byleth has spent the whole night watching Edelgard dance with people that she hardly knows, while trying to wrangle her other students, and now that she finally gets a chance to talk to her, it doesn’t feel right for it to already be over.

“I don’t want to go back just yet,” she says, not sure where she is going to go from here, only wanting to stop Edelgard before it’s too late.

“Oh? Why not?” Edelgard asks. “If we’re away for too long...well, I don’t know about you, but I’m sure it would look bad for me.”

“I know, I just…” What has gotten into her? The more Byleth thinks about it, the more she can’t explain why she cares so much. It’s an entirely new feeling to her, one that she isn’t sure what to make of. “It’s exhausting, I wanted to rest a little more.”

“Hm, I suppose something like this would be new for you. You’ve never been to a big party like this, have you?” When Byleth shakes her head, she smiles. “I’m a little envious, I have to admit. But I can definitely see why you find it so exhausting.”

“You’re tired too, aren’t you?” she asks.

“I...am a little tired, yes, but I’m sure there are a lot of people expecting dances from me, so I really should get back…”

“You can wait a little longer,” Byleth says. “I’m sure no one will miss you too much. As your professor, I’m giving you permission to sit it out a little longer.” Somehow, she feels like bringing up her position wasn’t the best move in this situation, but Edelgard doesn’t seem to mind.

“You make a very compelling argument,” she replies with a slight smile. “Alright, maybe I’ll rest with you for a little bit longer.”

Now that she’s achieved her goal, Byleth isn’t sure where to take it from here. She isn’t sure why she felt so compelled to keep Edelgard here for a little while, and now that she has her, she doesn’t know what to talk about. The topic of their first loves has run its course- thankfully- and she is at a loss for what else they can discuss.

“You must be a little out of your element,” Edelgard continues, and Byleth is grateful that she keeps the conversation moving herself. “I don’t mean that in a bad way, of course, it’s just...well, I can’t imagine a traveling mercenary had many opportunities to learn about things like this. You did seem to enjoy dancing down there, though.”

“Oh, well...I studied a few steps when I found out I would be attending the ball,” she confesses. “I didn’t want to make our class look bad.”

“I’m sure you wouldn’t have made our class look  _ bad _ . You don’t have to be so hard on yourself, my teacher,” she teases. “But it does look like you picked up enough. At the very least, it seems like you enjoyed yourself when Claude drug you out there.”

“Would you believe that’s the first time I ever danced with a partner?” asks Byleth.

“From looking at you two? Probably not, no. So, Claude was your first dance, huh?” Edelgard shakes her head with a laugh. “Not your last, of course. You were pretty mobbed after that.”

“You noticed? I thought you were preoccupied with your own hoard of partners.”

“I don’t really have to focus on the steps, and it’s not as if any of my partners offered any interesting conversation to keep my mind from wandering,” she says. “I found it much more entertaining to watch you attempt to keep up with Caspar’s energetic...well, whatever you would call that. And don’t even get me started on Ferdinand…”

Byleth can’t help a slight laugh at her words. “Well, perhaps if  _ you’d _ had a chance to dance with Ferdinand, you might have been less bored.”

“I have to admit, even he would have been preferable to some of my dull partners. Always with politics on the brain, but they have no idea how anything works. They want to use me for their ambitions without thinking about how realistic those ambitions even are.”

Byleth can’t pretend to understand anything about empire politics, or any politics, really, but she can at least sympathise with Edelgard. Somehow, the idea of someone feigning interest in her to simply further their own plans doesn’t sound that hard to understand.

“I’m definitely not envious,” she finally says, “even if some of the students are more difficult to dance with than others.”

“You looked like you were having a lot of fun, though. I guess I’m the one who’s envious,” Edelgard muses.

“Maybe you can invite a classmate to dance when we get back to the ball,” Byleth suggests. “There are a few who would jump at the chance, I’m sure. Even Ferdinand.” She is mostly teasing, and Edelgard wrinkles her nose.

“That isn’t exactly what I had in mind,” she replies. “Actually, if I’m being completely honest...I’m more envious of them than I am of you, my teacher.”

Byleth pauses at her words. She was jealous of the students that Byleth got to dance with? Is she to take that to mean Edelgard would have rather danced with her? There isn’t any other way to take it, but hearing it makes brings to mind the strange feeling from before, the one that compelled her to keep Edelgard there for as long as she could.

“Would you...like to dance with me?” Byleth asks.

“Well, if you’re going to dance with the rest of the class, it’s only fair, isn’t it?” Edelgard asks nonchalantly, but there is a tinge of color to her cheeks as she says it. Byleth can’t explain the excitement she feels upon noticing this.

“I wouldn’t want to be unfair,” she replies.

“Not only that, but...it isn’t fair that Claude got your first dance either,” she continues. “You’re not his teacher, after all…”

Edelgard really is jealous! Byleth can hardly believe it. It seems out of character for her to care this much, but then, it’s not exactly common for  _ Byleth _ to care so much about anything either. So, rather than overthinking it, she decides to ignore what she can’t explain, and just go along with it for now.

“I’m sorry for wasting it on him.”

“Nothing to be done about that now, so you don’t have to worry about it,” she says. “But let’s get back to the ball, so that you can make it up to me, alright?”

**Author's Note:**

> If you're interested in my writing updates, please follow my fanfiction twitter @WattStalf  
I'll follow back so long as you don't post anything hateful!


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